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Zelse Lindelevega
Background Hailing from the blacksmithing town of Toledus, Kul Tiras, Zelse Lindelevega is the bastard son of Aaron Lindelevega and Tirisfie Shadowvale, a Lordaeric human woman with a little portion of High Elf lineage. Despite this mixed cultural birth, Zelse is largely cultured as a Tirassian and despite bastardy, he was legitimized by his father. His stepmother, Marcela Lindelevega, died due to certain disease when Zelse was still a youth. The truth regarding the circumstance of his birth revolved around the fact that his father committed himself to an extramarital affair with someone he met in Southshore while on shore duty in his days as a Tirassian Marine, though for the longest time this was speculated as rumor. It was later confirmed that Marcela was unable to bear children, and that Aaron sought for another woman to continue his line despite his stillborn son Horaeon, who perished not long before he began the affair. Even though Aaron would have been considered unfaithful, he would not give his son Zelse over to the fate of bastardy. Whether Marcela knew the truth about the affair or not was not widely known, but she raised Zelse as if he was her own very son until her death. From that point on, Zelse would continue to be raised by his birth mother Tirisfie at her family estate near Southshore. Despite his father's background of a family of steelsmiths, Zelse lacked the necessary strength and fortitude to work in the steelsmithing trade. As a result, his father pressed him to learn a different trade, and Zelse chose fishing. Zelse apprenticed under a commercial fisherman and later he learned the ways of trading. Having a knack for selling things, he helped his clan sell steel products for a higher buck and became more welcomed and valued in the family. Finally, when Zelse reached the age of 16, he was ready to be admitted to the Royal Naval Academy upon appointment from the Admiralty in honor of his father's meritorious service and feats during the Second War. As Zelse was required to learn the skills and receive the education and training of all Tirassian Navy officers, his electives focused solely on seafaring commerce. He was not a distinguished graduate, having ranked in the middle of his class, but no dishonor or disrespect was found in him since he was considered a very shrewd individual. Ascension to Sorcery In Zelse's youth, he had an innate ability of arcane powers that were not clearly known, much less understood. His birth mother Tirisfie was actually a young apprentice who studied the arcane arts under Kel'Thuzad in Dalaran and she passed on her knowledge to her son. Zelse's first feats were that of Enchanting and he could impart magical energies into objects, but not even he understood the power he had. Tirisfie labored very diligently to try to get Zelse admitted in as a citizen of Dalaran to learn the arcane, but he would fail the required entrance tests. Kel'Thuzad himself, as well as his peers, showed contempt for Zelse in his youth and considered him an idiot savant who can only handle Enchanting. While some of the magi appreciated Zelse's abilities, it was not enough to help him become a Dalaran Wizard. Not long from the time Zelse Lindelevega graduated from the Naval Academy, the events of the Third War began to take place: his father was reassigned to investigate the escape of the orcs held in the internment camps at Durnholde Keep. Worse, Zelse began to hear from his mother about her involvement with Kel'Thuzad's exile from the Kirin Tor. Tirisfie would later be found to become a member of the Thuzadin, being responsible for the advent of the Scourge in Lordaeron. Before the Kingdom of Kul Tiras could other seize Zelse by giving him his first duty orders, he departed from Boralus by ship in secret to find his mother back in the mainland starting at Southshore. Zelse followed the trail of mystery to investigate what his mother was currently doing. In a secluded place not far from Tarren Mill, Zelse began to witness a ritual of sorts by robed figures belonging to the Thuzadin and the Cult of the Damned. As if it was a initiation ceremony, he beheld worthy members receiving powers of necromancy. Guided by dark, unknown voices, Zelse, at the right time, stepped up to the altar used for the initiation. From there, the powers therein consumed Zelse. Having been driven in a state of madness, Zelse wandered alone in the wilderness for weeks, seeing visions of undeath, decay, and immaterial things. A great deal of time passed before he was able to regain his sanity, and in the first days Zelse was in his right mind, he returned to Boralus. Upon Zelse's return, he was arrested immediately by the Kul Tiran Navy for desertion, but due to the pressing circumstances of war, his life was spared in the meantime until a military tribunal would decide Zelse's fate. Zelse also learned that since he was mad, his father Aaron has also deserted and committed a mutiny which circumstances were unknown apart from the fact that they revolved around Prince Arthas' most recent movements. From the time of Prince Arthas' return to the Kingdom of Lordaeron and to the time of the famous Battle of Mount Hyjal, Zelse Lindelevega would remain in prison and then in the brig upon a certain Tirassian warship at sea. Yet in that mostly solitary time, the occult sorcerous energies that consumed Zelse began to make manifest. Zelse was growing and maturing into a sorcerer who can, at long last, command the fonts of such power by his own will. Summary of military service As the old Alliance of Lordaeron crumbled from the fate of King Arthas' rise to power in Lordaeron, the Kingdom of Kul Tiras was hard-pressed by the circumstances in the world at the time. They decided to focus their efforts in defeating their maritime holdings around Kalimdor. Because the Tirassian Navy needed more officers, they pressed Zelse Lindelevega into service, commissioning him and giving him the rank of Ensign. Zelse would be responsible for helping his superior officers maintain the port at Tidefury Cove, where battle was joined between Admiral Proudmoore's forces and the Horde. Rexxar and his companions eventually triumphed and won the battle for the New Horde. Zelse Lindelevega was critically wounded but spared by Chen Stormstout in the fighting, but the last sailors and marines able to retreat pulled Zelse away from the fighting. As Zelse was no longer able to command forces, he was then sent back to Boralus and tarried there for a time before Zelse would then appear at his court-martial trial. The military tribunal judged and ruled in Zelse's favor for the established fact that he valiantly risked his life beyond what was required of him, having been exemplary in his deeds of valor. However, Zelse would be punished by the trangression of his father's actions as the statute of heritage follows. Aaron Lindelevega had betrayed the Kingdom and Zelse, his legitimate son, would be required to pay restitution for the damages. Zelse was sentenced to 10 years of Alliance service with no more than 50% of forfeiture of pay. Because there were hints of a family rivalry between the Lindelevegas and the Proudmoores, Zelse would be transferred out of Tirassian Navy service and be sent by ship to Stormwind City, which by this point was fully finished in restoration. By this time, a new Alliance was in the making, and Zelse would take his place in being part of a unique military history. Highlord Bolvar Fordragon saw the need of interracial relations important in special operations and began to organize a cadre and a command structure of special forces from all Alliance races: Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, and Gnome. Zelse Lindelevega would then be tried and later trained to become a special operator in the Alliance, at the rank of Knight. In the subsequent years, Zelse Lindelevega would take his share in securing the Alliance's military interests worldwide across Azeroth, against the New Horde and other enemies, and continue to do so until the end of the The Scourge War, when King Varian Wrynn would release Zelse Lindelevega early from mandated service to the Alliance. Mercenary service and individual pursuits Zelse Lindelevega was in his late twenties by the time the Cataclysm occurred, and he saw great profit in lending sword and spell for the Alliance in a tumultuous time of chaos and disorder. He was particularly famous for fighting alongside the Guardians of Hyjal in establishing a foothold in the Firelands as well as driving the Horde away from key strategic holdings in Tol Barad. Most critically, Zelse Lindelevega saved the life of Quirelezepli the Highlander, a Draenei holy warrior of the Zakaarai Church, during a large-scale battle between the Zakaarai Church and the Twilight's Hammer cult near Blackrock Mountain. When Pandaria was discovered, Zelse Lindelevega, having astutely perceived the land to be wealthy, conducted commerce and trade with the pandaren and begun to organize trade ventures. His feats of power also were entertained as well when Zelse began to raid the Throne of Thunder for sorcerous secrets. Ultimately, it was Zelse's undoing when he learned of Kanrethad Ebonlocke and the Black Harvest. As Zelse followed the trail to confront Kanrethad, he was mortally wounded by fel fire and nearly died before a certain mysterious person managed to stabilize him and have him returned to Stormwind. Quirelezepli returned the favor and treated Zelse's terrible wounds in the Stormwind Cathedral until Zelse was healthy enough to explore the recently discovered Timeless Isle. As the Dark Portal opened to the Draenor of old, Zelse Lindelevega was afforded the ability to serve the Grand Alliance as a mercenary commander who by contract would fulfill the Alliance's demands in exchange for equal-and-a-half wages of a regular commander. To the southwest of Talador, Zelse Lindelevega would establish Ft. Lindelevega, which would also serve as a strategic port not unlike Southport along the Arak Peninsula. He would later be trusted to host an admiralty to ensure dominance in the seas against the Iron Horde's naval fleet. Zelse's interests at heart throughout his life have been more commercial than belligerent: he favored the power of wealth over most other tools to prevail in the world. The combination of skill of sword, spell, and coin was a valuable asset for him. As the Goblins were particularly well-known by these things in culture, Zelse would be considered kin and he would be one of the few Humans to do business with Goblins on a regular basis. Because of his mandated forfeiture of pay, there was a greater need to supplement Zelse's own income through private enterprise. Textiles were one of Zelse's major industrial pursuits, and he has learned to make great deals of money since cloth in some ways can be more versatile in use than leather or metal ingots. He was famous for financing tough cloth liners for armor, that in the event that any given weapon could overcome armor, the liner would afford another level of protection to save the wearer from actual injury. Despite his skill with wealth, Zelse almost never sought it fit to flaunt it as the nobles do. Zelse was considered wealthy but not wealthy at the same time; to him, money was a means to an end, and the end is far greater than the means. A better piece of arms or armor, a staging point, a social connection, or even to turn aside a deadly blade, Zelse counts his true wealth in these ways. Throughout his twenties, he even became honored among the thieves' guilds of the Alliance as well as the Horde in some instances, that though thieves may take a chance to steal from Zelse, they often think twice if it is worth the very act. In the same way, Zelse also had a knack of keeping a few counter-assassins loyal by money, which was also a life-saving asset he enjoyed. Sethespawn Prophecy(Alternate-timeline Draenor) From the alternate timeline of the old Draenor, the arakkoan god Sethe, who was dying, saw it best to live on in the lives of the mortals he chose. In the cosmic scale of things, Sethe favored mostly the arakkoa devout to him but he also favored the Trolls on Azeroth, but these two races were not exclusive to his divine favor. In the time of Zelse's birth, he saw it fit to implant a part of his essence into his own very soul, an alternate event that would cross forth in real, present time. Zelse would eventually learn things of Prophecy regarding Sethe as his recent journey entranced himself to becoming a "son of Sethe". While Zelse made his introduction to the arakkoa exiles, they recognized who he was by countenance and tested and tried him according to Prophetic revelations of a "dark wind blowing". In time, Zelse would be proven to be that "dark wind", the one favored by Sethe himself to reestablish his dominion in the hearts of the arakkoa. Various tests and trials took place as Zelse continued his adventures in the alternate Draenor, and the Prophecy was complete when Zelse singlehandedly defeated Talon King Ikiss and inherited the same namesake mantle of status. By this point, all Sethekk recognized Zelse as a "Talon Prince"; not truly Terokk reborn but one who bears the true soulmark of Sethe himself. There are many "princes" of Sethe according to Prophecy, but only one King/Queen over them, and it is unknown who the King/Queen would be. As consequence, Zelse received more feats of power best attuned to his already-present Eldritch sorcery. One such ability he learned, called 'Dark Hysteresis', would allow Zelse to exponentiate his damage upon his enemies the longer he can keep a rift open between the material and the immaterial. It was with gifts like these that he was able to terrorize all arakkoa, to include the Adherents and the low-born, and to make clear that Sethe was very much alive and powerful through his chosen champions. Unusually interesting was that Zelse retained his own will, and was not given over to Sethe's whims and musings entirely. The arakkoa in general believed that according to Prophecy, he would be a "free moral agent", a "dark wind that blows whichever way it chooses", while some disagreed about the ulterior motives of Zelse's heart at hand. Would he be a savior of the arakkoa, or a harbinger of doom for them? A subjugator, or a liberator? The answers of such remain unknown, for Zelse would decide in his own time by his own actions, by commission or omission, the ultimate fate of the arakkoa race. And Zelse Lindelevega would be one of many talon princes vying to receive the mantle of a god... Death and Aftermath During the conflict in what was called the Fourth War, Zelse Lindelevega was slain while as a hostage under Queen Azshara. The official account was that he died gloriously in battle for the Alliance, but in truth he was the target for Sylvanas and that a hired assassin friendly to the Alliance killed him in an act of mercy deep within the Eternal Palace. This was done to deny the enemy a valuable war asset in tapping into Zelse's potential for greater power. A military funeral was done in haste to commemorate the honorable life he lived, but official accounts report that the mourning was extended for the month, having not ended until the autumn. After the end of the Fourth War King Anduin Wrynn, utilizing unused funds to avoid a withdrawal penalty by the goblins who managed the war bond in question, commenced public works in Stormwind City to honor the memory of Zelse Lindelevega, who held dual citizenship with Stormwind and Kul Tiras. The Bronze Dragonflight, particularly Chromie, has entertained efforts to resurrect Zelse Lindelevega for his closest of companions by altering time in favor of a second chance, beginning 14 years ago. To the current day, it remains an ongoing effort to safely guide Zelse and influence him for choices more favorable to his survival after the Fourth War. Characteristics and attributes Zelse Lindelevega is legally classified as a Warlock despite that his magical animus was not fel-based. Zelse received much of the same energies Kel'Thuzad practiced and dabbled into, which mostly focused on Eldritch(Shadow-Arcane) and some Necromantic(Shadow-Nature) powers. Due to a heritage-based weakness, Zelse is particularly weak against Frost magic. The mainstay of Zelse's powers focuses on raw eldritch energy being blasted against his enemies, and with invocations of various afflictions and maladies. Zelse also has the ability to command and control aberrations of a void nature, however his demonic knowledge is strictly limited to what he can handle. As a wrestler of arcane secrets, Zelse is able to secure some bits and pieces of Infernal knowledge that other Warlocks would have to pay a Faustian price for, but Zelse would not be able to reach the same magnitude of such power. With great Charisma, Zelse often achieves his victories by the seat of his own influence, which makes him more versatile and flexible than many of his counterparts. He also has some skill in arms and armor and can stand toe-to-toe against a basically trained melee combatant, yet he would not suffer well against the advances of a more specially skilled and determined melee foe. Due to a partial Elven lineage and by natural talent, Zelse sports very high Dexterity which allows him to elude and slip away from many dangers, something that has kept him alive for many years beyond most adventurers. Personality Zelse Lindelevega is Chaotic Good by Alignment. He has no desire for Evil things based on his life experiences yet believes that Good should find every way it can to best Evil at any time. Zelse is the kind of man that will take a chance to make any positive difference, though he becomes outraged when it does not avail enough. Zelse is chipper yet easily frustrated and impatient, but he is lighthearted to overlook faults in people and things and would try to find a way to resolve a problem. As he would fit very well into the Chaotic Good archetype, Zelse does believe in a sense of order that maintains a form of luck. His philosophy revolves around the fact that nothing is certain and that plans and rules can fail at any time. A "benevolent opportunist", Zelse would never do wrong by someone if he can help it, but always tries his best to find and put to use the good in anything he can see. As a consequence, Zelse is not a wise or deeply discerning person, being only interested in the here-and-now not giving much stock to the uncertain future. Category:Characters Category:Human Category:Tirasian Category:Warlocks Category:Mercenaries